Bhullar leads Indian challenge at The Open

Gaganjeet Bhullar will lead the Indian challenge along side SSP Chawrasia and Shubhankar Sharma in the final event before the season's last Major, The Open to be held at Royal Portush next week.

Bhullar, who won the Fiji International last year and then finished fifth at Kenya Open and tied 13th at Andalucia Masters last month, hit a bonanza of a latest BMW car with a hole in one in Munich recently.

He is looking at a solid result to take himself closer to an appearance at the season-ending DP World Tour Championships on the Race to Dubai.

Chawrasia, a four-time winner on the European Tour, has been struggling to find form, as is Shubhankar, the young star, who won twice in 2018.

Shubhankar will be the first of the three Indians to tee off at 9.10 am alongside the resurgent Robert Rock, who recently qualified for The Open, and Paul Dunne.

The five-foot-six Chawrasia plays with the six-foot-six Chris Wood and Marc Warren at 12.30 pm, while Bhullar goes out with Max Kieffer and David Horsey from the 10th tee at 1.40 pm.

The star attractions this week are Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas. McIlroy has four Majors and Thomas, who has one, is making his Scottish Open debut.

The 2015 Scottish Open winner Rickie Fowler also returns to the event, as does Matt Kuchar, who will be making his third consecutive appearance at the event.

The British challenge will see Englishmen Matt Wallace, winner of Hero Indian Open in 2018, Matt Fitzpatrick, winner of Tuesday's Hero Challenge and Scotsman Stephen Gallacher, winner of the Hero Indian Open in 2019. Other star Scots include Russell Knox and Robert MacIntyre.

The track at the exclusive Renaissance Club in East Lothian, is on the stretch known as Scotland's Gold Coast.